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symbolism in sacred kingship

An Egyptian pharaoh once said of himself: “He made me the
shepherd of this country.” In Mesopotamia the description of the king as a
shepherd was quite frequent; in the 3rd millennium
bc the term was applied to Sumerian city princes (e.g., Lugalbanda in the 1st dynasty of Uruk [Erech]). The function of the king as
shepherd also has been noted in India. The image of the
shepherd...